Consider sending your child to specialized high schools after many specialized high schools increased tuition fees.

The attraction to specialized high schools across the country is getting hotter and hotter as it gives specialized students a significant advantage over non-specialized students when applying for university admission. However, from the next school year, many parents will have to consider carefully when many specialized high schools decide to increase tuition fees.

The attraction of specialized schools

Sharing her determination to invest in sending her child to a specialized school in Hanoi, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Phuong (in Dong Da district, Hanoi) said that there are more and more priorities for specialized students when both domestic and international universities offer scholarships or direct admission, instead of having to wait for graduation exam results like for non-specialized students.

"By attending a specialized high school, students will have the opportunity to approach leading teachers and have the opportunity to train for the national team. As long as they are selected for the national team, they will be considered for direct admission to university and have the opportunity to be considered for foreign scholarships. In addition, many domestic universities will also give priority to direct admission to students, such as Hanoi National University and Ho Chi Minh City National University, if they meet the requirements in terms of academic records..."

Recently, Hanoi National University informed that from the 2024-2025 school year, some students from 4 high schools will be able to accumulate credits from grade 10 to shorten their university study time. It is expected that the first class of Hanoi National University will welcome about 200 students. This model is part of the pilot plan for training young talents from high school to university.

Accordingly, talented young students from 4 high schools in the Hanoi National University, including: High School for the Gifted in Natural Sciences (University of Natural Sciences), High School for the Gifted in Social Sciences and Humanities (University of Social Sciences and Humanities), High School for Educational Sciences (University of Education) and High School for Languages ​​(University of Foreign Languages), will study to accumulate credits and be granted credit certificates to shorten the university program.

It can be seen that with such favorable university admission policies, the attraction to specialized schools across the country will grow.

Candidates take the entrance exam to the High School for Social Sciences and Humanities on the morning of May 29. Photo: HH

Abolishing the non-specialized system affects the school's revenue.

While the demand for specialized high schools nationwide is increasing, the fact that specialized high schools must stop enrolling non-specialized students from the 2024-2025 school year according to the newly issued Regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training on the operation of specialized high schools has caused these schools to start to increase tuition fees.

Non-specialized programs under different names in specialized high schools such as "near-specialized" and "high-quality" programs have long been allowed to charge tuition fees many times higher than specialized programs. Stopping enrollment in this program has significantly affected the revenue of specialized schools and they have to consider ways to compensate for the expenses.

It can be seen that in the coming school year, specialized high schools under universities in Hanoi all increased their enrollment quotas for specialized classes. Hanoi National University of Education Specialized High School increased 105 quotas and 3 specialized classes; Natural Science Specialized High School increased 75 quotas, each specialized subject increased 15 quotas.

This year, the Foreign Language Specialized High School will enroll 525 students for 7 specialized classes. Except for the English specialized class, which has slightly reduced its quota by 5, the rest will increase by 10-30 places. The total quota for the next school year at the Foreign Language Specialized High School will increase by 125 places.

What surprised many parents was the decision to increase tuition fees quite high at two specialized schools in the next school year. The Hanoi National University of Education's High School for the Gifted and the Foreign Language High School (University of Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University, Hanoi) both increased their tuition fees by about 5-6 times compared to the 2023-2024 school year.

Specifically, the Foreign Language Specialized High School announced the application of new tuition fees from the 2024-2025 school year at 1.3 million VND/month in 2024, increasing to 1.97 million VND/month from 2025. Tuition fees apply to new admission courses and remain stable until the end of the course. Meanwhile, the Pedagogical Specialized High School collects tuition fees of 650,000 VND/month in the first semester. From the second semester, it increases to 1.6 million VND/month.

In the next two school years, tuition fees will be VND1.7 million/month and VND1.8 million/month, respectively. It is known that in the 2023-2024 school year, both schools will apply VND300,000/month for specialized students.

With this sharp increase, many parents have had to consider, especially students from other provinces who come to Hanoi to study. Ms. Dang Thu An (in Bac Giang province) said that although she has invested a lot of time in her child's preparation for the entrance exam to the Foreign Language Specialized High School, her family is now having to recalculate because in addition to the increase in tuition fees, living expenses have also increased. Such high costs will significantly affect her family's life.

Meanwhile, a representative of the Foreign Language Specialized High School said that the school's specialized program for the 2023-2024 school year has collected a tuition fee of 3.1 million VND/month/student. The specialized program's tuition fee according to the new collection rate is less than 2/3 of the specialized program's tuition fee.

Dr. Vu Van Tien, Principal of Hanoi National University of Education High School for the Gifted, said that the school currently uses revenue from the non-specialized program to compensate for the specialized program. When the budget decreases, revenue from the non-specialized program is no longer available, and the school is forced to increase tuition fees to maintain operations.

The increase in tuition fees for specialized high schools after converting from public to self-financed public schools is based on Decree 81/2021/ND-CP of the Government and the ceiling price of services for specialized high schools under the management of Hanoi. This ceiling is about 2.8 million VND/month.

"Even with the new tuition fees, the school will still only operate at a minimum level and not be well-off," said the principal of Hanoi National University of Education High School for the Gifted.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/phu-huynh-can-nhac-cho-con-hoc-chuyen-sau-khi-nhieu-truong-thpt-chuyen-tang-hoc-phi-20240607162052283.htm